GERMANY: Siemens Mobility and its Smart Train Lease subsidiary have signed a co-operation agreement with Tyczka Hydrogen to offer fuel cell trains with a full hydrogen supply chain and appropriate support services.
The partnership announced on June 25 is intended to ‘pave the way for a successful transformation of railways towards hydrogen mobility’, the companies explained.
München-based Tyczka is a European gas specialist focusing on industrial gases, LPG and hydrogen. Its hydrogen division covers the entire value chain from production, compression and transport logistics to refuelling and application technologies.
Siemens Mobility sees hydrogen as one of the main options for replacing diesel traction on routes that are difficult to electrify. However, it recognises that train operators would need specialist maintenance services and a suitable fuel supply chain for hydrogen powered trains.
Siemens Mobility and Tyczka Hydrogen signed a Letter of Intent in April to work together on development of the necessary supply chain elements, including green hydrogen production, storage, distribution and refuelling as well as the manufacturing and maintenance of fuel cell trains. Meanwhile, Smart Train Lease is to offer hydrogen trains as part of its portfolio.
‘Delivering carbon neutral mobility as never been easier’, commented Albrecht Neumann, Siemens Mobility’s CEO for Rolling Stock. ‘Three strong partners are now working hand in hand to serve the hydrogen rail market with new and alternative concepts along the value chain.’
‘Being smart means simplifying things’, added Smart Train Lease CEO Benjamin Dobernecker. ‘That includes offering our customers smart solutions for hydrogen infrastructure, and Tyczka is the ideal partner for this.’
Tyczka Hydrogen Managing Director Thomas Zorn felt that ‘green hydrogen is a great solution to decarbonise heavy-duty transport operations’, thanks to fast refuelling times and a long operating range, which meant that environmentally friendly multiple-units could have as much flexibility in operation as diesels without the need for ‘excessive’ investment in electrification. ‘Through close collaboration and a holistic approach, the implementation of fossil-free railway mobility will become simpler for train operators’, he anticipated.
